


Time Has Taken All That I Possess

by stars_over_sky



Category: DC's Legends of Tomorrow (TV)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-20
Updated: 2018-01-20
Packaged: 2019-03-06 01:41:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,692
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13400772
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stars_over_sky/pseuds/stars_over_sky
Summary: "Administrative leave,” Sara repeated incredulously, leaning back against her desk. She hadn't the patience for bureaucratic bullshit when well-rested, let alone when she'd been awake since Christmas. She’d been calling to pick Ava’s brain over some new information about Mallus, the call bouncing back unanswered. After a little digging Gideon had successfully hijacked Ava’s laptop at home, interrupting a Jurassic Park marathon, only for Ava to cut her off with a raised hand and an explanation for why she was at home. “What the hell for?”“General insubordination, specifically disobeying a direct order, misuse of Bureau technology, fraternising with… well, you, and a bunch of other stuff buried in the fine print.” Ava shrugged, smiled at her for just a moment. “Go big or go home. I knew the risks, I'd do it again.”





	Time Has Taken All That I Possess

“Administrative leave,” Sara repeated incredulously, leaning back against her desk. She hadn't the patience for bureaucratic bullshit when well-rested, let alone when she'd been awake since Christmas. She’d been calling to pick Ava’s brain over some new information about Mallus, the call bouncing back unanswered. After a little digging Gideon had successfully hijacked Ava’s laptop at home, interrupting a Jurassic Park marathon, only for Ava to cut her off with a raised hand and an explanation for why she was at home. “What the hell for?”

“General insubordination, specifically disobeying a direct order, misuse of Bureau technology, fraternising with… well, you, and a bunch of other stuff buried in the fine print.” Ava shrugged, smiled at her for just a moment. “Go big or go home. I knew the risks, I'd do it again.”

“Have you considered telling them all to go do something anatomically improbable?” she asked, trying to distract herself from that fleeting smile, from the way something twisted in her chest at Ava’s casual dismissal of the trouble she was in for saving her. 

“Have you considered burning your bridges after you cross them instead of when you're only halfway over?” Ava’s tone was curious rather than critical, and Sara had to begrudgingly admit to herself that it might not be a bad idea but she'd die rather than agree out loud. 

“Look, Sara, I'm just going to keep my head down and hope it all blows over. Get a venti hazelnut latte, stop and smell the roses. I'll call you when I'm back at work.”

The screen went black for a moment as the connection cut out, before Gideon popped back up with a map highlighting four Starbucks locations and circling one. “These are all within a reasonable proximity to Agent Sharpe’s apartment, but only this one has a florist next to it, the flower connections are tenuous to nonexistent for the other three. There’s parking at an empty playground half a block away, I’ve sent the flight plan down to the jump ship.”

“Thank you,” she said, rubbing at her eyes with the palms of her hands. “You're the best, Gideon.”

* * *

She’d parked the jump ship under a cluster of evergreens at the deserted playground, and found Ava leaving the Starbucks that Gideon had identified as the most likely location. Ava passed her a paper cup without comment, letting Sara take her arm and lead her to the jump ship. 

Ava cut straight to the chase as soon as the hatch closed behind them, taking a seat on the bench next to her with an almost boneless grace. "Do you need my help?" 

She shook her head, swallowing much-needed coffee and feeling its warmth spread through her. “No--well, not yet. I wanted to compare notes. I spoke with a demon named Andras. If they were telling the truth they’re no friend of Mallus, and they said he had a weakness, a demon blade. Did Rip ever mention…?” she trailed off, seeing that Ava looked increasingly horrified.

“No, and _what are you doing_ talking to a demon?” Ava closed her eyes, raising her hand to pinch the bridge of her nose. “I've changed my mind, you do need a babysitter--not your team, you personally.”

“Job’s yours if you want it,” she said, rummaging in her coat for the sketch the demon had given her. “This is what the knife looks like,” she added, passing it over. “Bronze, and the blade is edged with what looks like obsidian, but it's actually blood turned to stone. You can keep it, Gideon already took a copy. If you do see the knife, Andras warned not to get cut with it.”

Ava’s expression was unreadable as she tilted the page in the light. In Sara’s opinion the picture was pretty good for a collaborative effort between an ancient demon and a six year old using coloured pencils, they'd even coloured in the little gemstones embedded in the hilt of the knife. 

“Doesn't ring any bells but I'm due back at work in two days unless I'm fired first. I'll find a way to speak to Rip and see if he’s heard of it. What is on the back of this page?”

“Frosting, don't worry. The demon I spoke to was possessing a little girl, her price for body rental was a chocolate cake.”

“Of course it was,” Ava said under her breath, folding the page into quarters sticky side in before tucking it into a back pocket. “Anything else I should know?”

“Yeah, you look really good out of your clothes,” she said without thinking, feeling her cheeks burn as she realised how that sounded and gesturing with one hand toward Ava’s jeans and mottled grey-blue hoodie. “Not in the suit, I mean. Dressing like a normal person. I'm so sorry, I haven't really slept for two or three days, I have no filter left.”

“You're too tired and I'm too sober to have this conversation,” Ava leaned forward, patting her hand reassuringly. “I should go, you should get some sleep.”

“Yeah, I will--you know you could come with us. On the Waverider. If you get fired, or if you just want a change. The pay’s nonexistent, but the health coverage doesn't suck.” 

If she was honest with herself it wasn't purely guilt that prompted her offer. There had been something between them ever since her team had broken time, when she'd offered to help with a bunch of dinosaurs and been shot down by a very attractive and very irate Agent Sharpe. 

Mostly that something had been hostility, but since they’d fought to a draw there was a new undercurrent to their interactions. An undercurrent that always sent the boys running out of her office when Ava called to complain about her and her merry band of misfits, and she'd definitely caught Zari smirking in her peripheral vision whenever Ava’s name came up. It would probably end in disaster, knowing her luck, but...

“I can't leave Ripley,” Ava said, and Sara’s brain started cycling through the options for who Ripley was--a girlfriend? A child? “I don't have anyone who can look after her if I go away, my aunt’s allergic to cats.”

A cat. That was definitely easier to deal with than a girlfriend or kid. “Just bring her with you,” she said, keeping her voice casual. “It would be nice to have another adult on the Waverider besides Amaya.”

“You have another adult on your team?” Ava asked, looking perplexed. “I don't think I've met them.”

“Okay, very funny,” she said, rolling her eyes when she realised Ava's comment was a teasing dig at her. She liked this softer side of Ava, a side that she'd have sworn didn't exist even a month or two earlier, and she didn't enjoy the uneasy feeling she got every time she thought of Ava going back to the Time Bureau, especially when she factored in that Ava had no time courier now. “Before I kick you off my jump ship and go to bed, I want you to have this.” 

She pulled the silvery cuff from her wrist, holding it out. Technically Gideon had made it for _her,_ presenting it the night before with a little lecture about how she didn't fancy breaking in a new captain and didn't want to rely on other people to bring Sara back when injured, but some instinct told her that Ava’s need might be greater than her own over the next few days. 

Her sense of unease dissipated instantly as soon as Ava took the cuff from her, which was both a relief and something that she'd have to evaluate after sleep. Normally her hunches were a lot more subtle, fragmentary flashes that warned her to dodge left instead of right, told her to where and when to strike, the sort of thing she could write off as the brain making connections too quickly to follow. 

“It’s a personal spacetime transporter,” she said in response to Ava’s raised eyebrows. “You control it with your thoughts. The time range isn't great unless you go via the Waverider, but if you're injured or knocked out it'll transport you to the medical bay by default. Gideon said it can't be blocked or tracked like the Bureau tech.” 

“Thank you,” Ava shot her a smile. “This... look, maybe everything will be fine. But if it isn't, you may have just saved my life again.”

“Go on, get out of here,” she said, putting on a cheerful grin as she got to her feet with feigned enthusiasm and hit the button to open the hatch. “If you need me you can just beam yourself onto the Waverider.”

“If I need you,” Ava agreed and following her out into the dusk, the trees surrounding the jump ship deepening the shadows around them. “If you need me, just call and I'll come.”

Distracted by Ava’s words she walked directly into a branch, recoiling as a sharp twig hit her in the face. “Shit,” she swore, touching her cheek and cursing again mentally as her fingertips came away wet with blood.

“Here,” Suddenly Ava was much closer, pressing something to her face with one arm around her back to steady her, the firm pressure counteracting the dull throb pulsing down her face and making her close her eyes for just a second. 

A second turned into a minute, then into two or three before Ava pulled back, the sudden tension making Sara snap back to reality faster than she'd have liked. Ava’s face was pale, her gaze fixed on Sara’s cheek, a blood-stained paper napkin falling from her grasp. 

“Are you okay?” She wouldn't have thought Ava the type to be squeamish around blood. “You look like you've seen a ghost.”

“I thought I had more time,” Ava said, her voice oddly distant. “Our history is non-linear. Everything is about to escalate. I'll... I'll be in touch.”

Before she could protest or ask questions, Ava clasped her free hand over the transporter cuff. For the briefest moment she was outlined with a thread of golden light, then she was gone.


End file.
